Italian Grand Prix Diary – 1961

Here’s a lovely little clip from John Tate’s Gentleman’s Motor Racing Diary series of films. John was a Spitfire pilot during the war and a sugar industrialist. The success of his sugar company gave him the freedom to travel from GP to GP throughout the 50s and 60s. These films, found by his family after his death, were later released to DVD with his son reading from John’s diary entries of the events.

Sadly, this race is best remembered for Von Trips fatal accident which also took out 14 spectators. Also a pity that it was also the last Formula One race held on the full Monza track: the road course and banking.